Stackable display container, its preassembly and blank for making same

ABSTRACT

A stackable display container is provided, having stacking supports for lending support and stability to containers as they are stacked one upon the other, with the stacking supports being thicker than the combined thicknesses of panels that comprise such supports.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is known in the packaging art to provide packages of candy or otheritems in containers, for display to customers in stores. It is alsoknown that such containers can be shipped to the locations of display inknockdown form; i.e., flattened but otherwise being glued, stapled orotherwise secured together, such that they are already substantiallypreassembled, it generally only being necessary to open the sides and orends of the containers and to affix the container bottom wall into itsassembled condition, such that smaller packages, bags, or the like ofcandies or other products can be placed into the assembled displaycontainer, for ready display.

It is also known in the packaging art that it is sometimes desirable tobe able to stack a plurality of such display containers, one on top ofthe other, so that such containers as may be stacked above thebottom-most container are amply supported and so that a stack of anumber of such containers, when filled with packages for display, willnot collapse.

It is also known in the art that such containers can be made from blanksthat are provided with pre-cut cut lines and pre-scored or pre-formedfold lines.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present is directed to providing a stackable display container forreceiving and displaying products therein, wherein upstanding walls ofthe container are provided with associated spacer panels that togetherdefine stacking supports for the container, to support containerscarried thereabove, wherein each stacking support is thicker than thecombined thickness of an upstanding container wall and its associatedspacer panel.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide astackable display container in which spacer panels are used inconnection with upstanding walls, to provide increased thickness ofupstanding walls and their associated spacer panels, for stable stackingsupport for other stacking containers disposed thereon.

It is another object of this invention to provide a novel containerpreassembly for accomplishing the object set forth above.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel containerblank for accomplishing the objects set forth above.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will readilyapparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the followingbrief descriptions of the drawing figures, the detailed descriptions ofthe preferred embodiments, and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a container in accordance with thisinvention, in its assembled condition.

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of a stack of containers of the FIG. 1type, arranged in stacked relation.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the container of FIG. 1, wherein the centerdivider is shown in phantom.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the attachment ofa spacer panel to a rear wall of the container of FIG. 3, takengenerally along the line IV-IV of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to that of FIG. 4, but taken along the line V-Vof FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a top view of a container preassembly for the container ofFIG. 1, shown in its flattened form, and including a front wall, bottomwall and left side wall thereof.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to that of FIG. 6, but of the reverse side ofthe container preassembly to that shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a container blank, for making containerpreassemblies and containers in accordance with this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings in detail, reference is first made to FIG.1, wherein a stackable display container is shown, generally designatedby the numeral 10, having an upstanding front wall 11, an upstandingback wall 12 and upstanding right and left end walls 13 and 14,respectively.

The front wall 11 is connected to the right and left end walls 13 and 14along fold lines 15 and 16, respectively and forms corners therewith.Similarly, the back wall 12 is connected to the right and left end walls13 and 14, respectively, along fold lines 17 and 18, forming cornerstherewith as shown.

The container 10 is thus formed in a rectangular configuration, with thefront and back walls 11 and 12 forming a pair of opposing walls, andwith the right and left walls 13 and 14 also forming a pair of opposingwalls.

A bottom wall 20 substantially closes over the rectangular space definedby the walls 11-14, at the lower ends of walls 11-14.

A pair of spacer panels 21 and 22 are shown, also being upstanding, andextending in each case from the front wall 11, to the back wall 12 alongfold lines 23-26, as shown. The spacer panels 21 and 22 are disposedgenerally parallel to their respectively associated upstanding right andleft end walls 13, 14, spaced inboard thereof, in each case, as shown,to leave spaces 27, 28, between the spacer panels 21, 22 and theirrespectively associated end walls 13, 14.

Thus, with each end wall 13 and 14 being of corrugated cardboardconstruction, as shown, and of a thickness T1, and with each spacerpanel likewise being of corrugated cardboard construction and of athickness T2, the dimension “D” between the outer surface of each endwall and the inner surface of its associated spacer panel, is greaterthan the combined thicknesses of a given end wall and its associatedspacer panel. Thus, “D” is greater than T1 plus T2, as shown.

The bottom wall 20 is comprised of a plurality of bottom wall panels,which will be discussed hereinafter.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, all of the walls are constructed ofcorrugated cardboard, although, such is exemplary only, in that thevarious walls, the panels that comprise them, any tabs on various panelsor the like, may all be constructed of other materials that will meetthat criteria set forth in the claims.

The back wall 12 is comprised of two different back wall portions 30 and31, secured together as a single wall 12, via an adhesive coated tab 32extending from back wall portion 30, and being adhesively secured behindback wall portion 31, as shown.

An optional container divider 33 is shown, in phantom because it isoptional, extending between and foldably connected to the front wall 11and the back wall 12, as shown.

With reference now to FIG. 2, it will be seen that a plurality ofstackable display containers are shown, stacked one upon the other, andthat the stacking support provided at the right and left ends of thecontainers 10, by means of the spacer panels 21, 22, being disposedinboard of, and parallel to their respectively associated upstanding endwalls 13, 14, provide a stacking support width “D”, at each of the rightand left ends of the containers 10, for enabling one to stack multiplecontainers, one upon the other, with stability and improved stackingstrength.

In the containers as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be seen that thereare provided access openings 34, 35, defined by U-shaped cut-outs in thefront wall 11 of the container 10, for ready access to packages that areto be displayed in the container 10. It will also be seen that theaccess openings 34, 35 communicate with the open upper end of thecontainer 10, which is free of any top wall or panel covering the same,also for ready access to containers in a stack such as shown in FIG. 2;especially to the uppermost container 10 in that stack.

With reference now to FIG. 3, it will be seen that the front wall 11 ofthe container 10 is comprised of outer and inner panels 40 and 41,connected together along a fold line 42. Similarly, rear panel portion30 of rear wall 12 is comprised of outer and inner wall panels 43 and44, respectively, connected together along a fold line 45.

Rear wall portion 31 is comprised of outer and inner panels 46 and 47,respectively, connected together along fold line 48, as shown.

Right spacer panel 21 is foldably connected along fold line 50, as shownin FIG. 5, to inner back wall panel 44 for its connection to back wall12, and is foldably connected by means of a glue tab 51, to the innersurface of outer front wall panel 40, by means of glue or otheradhesive, as shown at the lower right corner of FIG. 3.

Spacer panel 22 is foldably connected to the front wall panel 11, byfold line 52, to inner front wall panel 41, at the lower left end of thecontainer as shown in FIG. 3. Spacer panel 22 is foldably connected tothe inner surface of outer back wall panel 46, via a glue tab 53,adhesively securing the same to the inner surface of back wall panel 46,as is shown more clearly in the detail of FIG. 4.

The divider 33 may be comprised of right and left divider panels 54 and55, foldably connected at their upper ends 56, with panel 54 beingfoldably connected to outer panel 46 of the back wall 12, and foldablyconnected to the front wall as shown at 58, by means of a glue tab 60adhering the same to the inner surface of inner front wall panel 41, asshown in FIG. 3.

With reference now to FIGS. 6 and 7, the container 10 is shown in itspreassembled condition, in which the container 10 is in its knocked-downor flattened condition as shown, with its front and back walls 11 and 12connected to right and left end walls 13 and 14 by fold lines 15, 16, 17and 18, as shown, which, in the fully assembled condition of thecontainer 10 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, such fold lines 15-18 become thecorners for the container.

The bottom wall 20 for the container 10, is comprised of a plurality ofbottom wall panels 62, 63, 64, 65 and 66, foldably connected to thepanels that comprise the walls 11, 12, 13 and 14, via fold lines 67, 68,70, 71 and 72, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.

In the illustration of FIG. 6, removable access panels 73, 74 are shown,carried by the front wall 11, and readily removable therefrom byseparating the same from the front wall 11 along pre-cut score lines 75,76, as shown, to yield the U-shaped cut-outs 34, 35 as shown in FIG. 1.

It will be seen that the bottom wall 20 may be comprised of the fivepanels described above, or any other number of panels such as willsubstantially or completely close over the bottom of the container 10.

With reference now to FIG. 8, it will be seen that a blank 80 is shown,preferably of corrugated cardboard construction, provided as a planarsheet, as shown, with the various panels described above with respect tothe preassembled and fully assembled container 10, with solid linesdefining edges or cut lines, and with dotted lines defining fold lines.

A plurality of glue or other adhesive zones are shown, in which adhesivemay be used to secure panels together as described above. Such adhesivezones or lines are identified by the numbers 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87,88, 90, 91, 92, 93 and 94.

In FIG. 8, the various panels are numbered, using the same numbering forpanels of the preassembled container and the fully assembled container10, as described with respect to the illustrations of FIGS. 1-7, so thatit can be readily understood how the panels of FIG. 8 relate to thevarious wall-forming panels, bottom-forming panels, spacer panels andglue tabs as shown in the illustrations of FIGS. 1-7.

Also, with respect to FIG. 8, it will be understood that theillustration is of that side of the blank that becomes substantiallyhidden from view when the blank is assembled into a container 10 asshown in FIG. 1, in order to illustrate locations for placement ofadhesive.

It will be understood that various modifications may be made in thedetails of construction, as well as in the use and operation of thecontainer of this invention, its preassembly and blank, all within thespirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

1. A stackable display container for receiving and displaying productstherein, comprising: (a) an upstanding front wall, upstanding back walland upstanding right and left end walls; (b) with each of the front andback walls being foldably connected to each of the right and left endwalls; (c) with a bottom wall comprising a plurality of panels foldablyconnected to any of said front, back and right and left end walls; (d)with said front, back and right and left end walls being disposed in arectangular configuration, defining a first pair of opposing upstandingwalls and a second pair of opposing upstanding walls; (e) with thebottom wall being at least substantially closed by the plurality of itspanels folded to define said bottom wall; (f) with a pair of spacerpanels foldably connected to the first of the opposing upstanding wallsof the container and being arranged generally parallel to and spacedinboard of the second pair of opposing upstanding walls of thecontainer; (g) whereby the second of the two opposing upstanding wallsand their respectively associated spacer panels comprise means definingstacking supports for the container, wherein each said stacking supportis thicker than the combined thickness of an upstanding wall and itsassociated spacer panel.
 2. The container of claim 1, wherein thecontainer is free of a top wall defining an open top for the container.3. The container of claim 2, wherein the front wall has at least oneaccess opening therein, in communication with said open top.
 4. Thecontainer of claim 1, including a container divider foldably connectedto two opposing walls of the container.
 5. The container of claim 1,wherein the spacer panels are foldably connected to the front and backwalls of the container and are spaced inboard of the right and left endwalls of the container.
 6. The container of claim 1, wherein the frontwall is at least substantially comprised of a pair of front wall panelsfoldably connected together at upper ends thereof.
 7. The container ofclaim 1, wherein the rear wall is at least substantially comprised of atleast pair of rear panels foldably connected together at upper endsthereof.
 8. The container of claim 1, wherein the container is free of atop wall defining an open top for the container, wherein the front wallhas at least one access opening therein, in communication with said opentop, wherein the spacer panels are foldably connected to the front andback walls of the container and are spaced inboard of the right and leftend walls of the container, wherein the front wall is at leastsubstantially comprised of a pair of front wall panels foldablyconnected together at upper ends thereof, and wherein the rear wall isat least substantially comprised of at least pair of rear panelsfoldably connected together at upper ends thereof.
 9. The container ofclaim 8, wherein including a container divider foldably connected to twoopposing walls of the container.
 10. A stackable display containerpreassembly for receiving and displaying products therein when fullyassembled, comprising: (a) a front wall unit, a back wall unit and rightand left end wall units; (b) with each of the front and back wall unitsbeing foldably connected to each of the right and left end wall units;(c) with a bottom wall unit comprising a plurality of panels foldablyconnected to any of said front, back and right and left end wall units;(d) with said front, back and right and left end wall units beingadapted to be disposed in a rectangular configuration in the fullyassembled condition of the container preassembly, defining a first pairof opposing upstanding wall units and a second pair of opposingupstanding wall units; (e) with the bottom wall unit being adapted to beat least substantially closed by the plurality of its panels folded todefine a bottom wall when the container preassembly is fully assembled;(f) with a pair of spacer panels foldably connected to the first pair ofthe opposing wall units of the container and being adapted to begenerally parallel to and spaced inboard of the second pair of opposingwall units of the container when the container preassembly is fullyassembled; (g) whereby the second of the two opposing wall units andtheir respectively associated spacer panels comprise means, when thecontainer preassembly is fully assembled, defining stacking supports forthe container, wherein each said stacking support is thicker than thecombined thickness of a wall unit and its associated spacer panel. 11.The container preassembly of claim 10, wherein the container is free ofa top wall unit, defining an open top for the container when thecontainer preassembly is fully assembled.
 12. The container preassemblyof claim 11, wherein the front wall unit has at least one access openingtherein, adapted to be in communication with said open top when thecontainer preassembly is fully assembled.
 13. The container preassemblyof claim 10, including a container divider unit foldably connected totwo opposing wall units of the container.
 14. The container preassemblyof claim 10, wherein the spacer panels are foldably connected to thefront and back wall units of the container preassembly and areautomatically spaced inboard of the right and left end wall units of thecontainer when the container preassembly is fully assembled.
 15. A blankfor forming a stackable display container for receiving and displayingproducts therein, when fully assembled, comprising: (a) a primary frontwall panel, at least one primary back wall panel and right and left endwall panels; (b) with each of the right and left end wall panels beingfoldably connected to each of a front and back wall panel; (c) with aplurality of bottom wall panels foldably connected to any of said backand right and left end wall panels; (d) with said front, back and rightand left end wall panels being adapted to be disposed in a rectangularconfiguration in the fully assembled condition of the container blank,defining a first pair of opposing upstanding wall units and a secondpair of opposing upstanding wall units; (e) with a bottom wall panelsbeing adapted to be at least substantially closed by the plurality ofits panels folded to define a bottom wall when the container blank isfully assembled; (f) with secondary front and back wall panels foldablyconnected to respective primary front and back wall panels; (g) with apair of spacer panels foldably connected at their one ends thereof tothe secondary front and back wall panels and having tabs for attachmentat their opposite ends to primary front and back wall panels and beingadapted to be generally parallel to and spaced inboard of right and leftwall panels of the container blank when the container blank is fullyassembled into a container; (h) whereby the right and left end wallpanels and spacer panels comprise means, when the container blank isfully assembled, defining stacking supports for the container, whereineach said stacking support is thicker than the combined thickness of anend wall panel and an associated parallel spacer panel.
 16. Thecontainer blank of claim 15, wherein the primary and secondary frontwall panels have at least one cutout opening therein.
 17. The containerblank of claim 15, including at least one container divider panelfoldably connected to at least one primary or secondary front or backwall panel.